Thin film transistor, method of manufacturing the same, and display apparatus

ABSTRACT

Provided is a bottom gate type thin film transistor including on a substrate ( 1 ) a gate electrode ( 2 ), a first insulating film ( 3 ) as a gate insulating film, an oxide semiconductor layer ( 4 ) as a channel layer, a second insulating film ( 5 ) as a protective layer, a source electrode ( 6 ), and a drain electrode ( 7 ), in which the oxide semiconductor layer ( 4 ) includes an oxide including at least one selected from the group consisting of In, Zn, and Sn, and the second insulating film ( 5 ) includes an amorphous oxide insulator formed so as to be in contact with the oxide semiconductor layer ( 4 ) and contains therein 3.8×10 19  molecules/cm 3  or more of a desorbed gas observed as oxygen by temperature programmed desorption mass spectrometry.

This application is a divisional of Ser. No. 13/419,417, filed Mar. 13,2012, which was a continuation of application Ser. No. 12/515,268, whichwas the National Stage of International Application No.PCT/JP2007/072878, filed Nov. 20, 2007.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a bottom gate type thin filmtransistor, a method of manufacturing the same, and an electro-opticalapparatus such as a display apparatus. More particularly, the presentinvention relates to a bottom gate type thin film transistor providedwith an insulating film as an etching stopper, a method of manufacturingthe same, and a display apparatus.

BACKGROUND ART

In recent years, a thin film transistor (TFT) in which a transparentconductive oxide polycrystalline thin film containing ZnO as a mainingredient is used as a channel layer has been actively developed (seeJapanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-76356).

The thin film can be formed at low temperature and is transparent tovisible light, so it is possible to form a flexible transparent TFT on asubstrate such as a plastic plate or a film.

Further, it is disclosed that thin film transistors having a transparentsemiconductor using ZnO or the like form a matrix display apparatus(U.S. Pat. No. 6,563,174).

In U.S. Pat. No. 6,563,174, it is disclosed that a source electrode anda drain electrode on an oxide semiconductor can be formed by dryetching.

According to the article in Nature, 488, 432 (2004), there is discloseda technology of using a transparent amorphous oxide semiconductor film(a-IGZO) containing indium, gallium, zinc, and oxygen as the channellayer of a TFT.

Further, it is described that a flexible and transparent TFT with asatisfactory field-effect mobility of 6 to 9 cm²V⁻¹s⁻¹ can be formed ona substrate such as a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film at roomtemperature.

Further, in Table 2 on page 74 of February 2006 NIKKEI MICRODEVICES, itis described that the operation was recognized as a flexible electronicpaper using a thin film transistor where a-IGZO is used as a channellayer of the TFT.

Further, as a method of forming source/drain electrodes on asemiconductor layer, a structure where an etching stopper layer isprovided on a semiconductor layer in a bottom gate type thin film TFT tolower leakage current between a source electrode and a drain electrodeis disclosed (U.S. Pat. No. 5,403,755).

U.S. Pat. No. 6,563,174 discloses that, in a bottom gate type thin filmTFT having a transparent oxide semiconductor whose main component isZnO, a source electrode and a drain electrode on an oxide semiconductorcan be formed by dry etching. U.S. Pat. No. 6,563,174 also describesthat a protective film which is practically essential in a bottom gatetype thin film TFT is formed by a plasma CVD (P-CVD) method as a siliconnitride thin film.

In all the related art except U.S. Pat. No. 6,563,174, a sourceelectrode and a drain electrode are formed by a lift-off technique.

In lift-off, a problem arises such as readherence of particles of alifted-off electrode film, thus it is difficult to produce a large-areaTFT with high yields.

It is difficult to form a source electrode and a drain electrode by wetetching using an acid in designing a TFT, because even if an electrodematerial is a metal or a transparent oxide conductor, an oxidesemiconductor whose main component is ZnO is susceptible to an acid andthe etching speed is high.

In effect, a source electrode and a drain electrode are formed only by adry etching process.

However, in an oxide semiconductor whose main component is ZnO, anoxygen vacancy is liable to occur and many carrier electrons are liableto be generated, thus an oxide semiconductor layer may be damaged in aprocess of etching a source electrode and a drain electrode.

There is also a method of providing a protective layer as an etchingstopper layer in order to decrease damage to the semiconductor layercaused by the etching, but, even if such a protective film is formed,the oxide semiconductor layer is damaged and an OFF-current becomeslarger.

Thus, there is a problem in that TFT characteristics with a satisfactoryon/off ratio are difficult to realize with stability.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to attainformations of a source electrode and a drain electrode by etching in abottom gate type thin film transistor that uses an oxide semiconductor,to thereby attain a process that excels in mass production.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a thin filmtransistor having satisfactory transistor characteristics with aminimized OFF-current.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present inventionprovides a bottom gate type thin film transistor, including on asubstrate a gate electrode; a first insulating film as a gate insulatingfilm; an oxide semiconductor layer as a channel layer; a secondinsulating film as a protective layer; a source electrode; and a drainelectrode, in which: the oxide semiconductor layer includes an oxideincluding at least one selected from the group consisting of In, Zn, andSn; and the second insulating film includes an amorphous oxide insulatorformed so as to be in contact with the oxide semiconductor layer andcontains therein 3.8×10¹⁹ molecules/cm³ or more of a desorbed gasobserved as oxygen by temperature programmed desorption massspectrometry. The temperature programmed desorption mass spectrometry(TPD) is also known as thermal desorption spectroscopy (TDS).

Further, the present invention provides a method of manufacturing abottom gate type thin film transistor, the bottom gate type thin filmtransistor including on a substrate a gate electrode, a first insulatingfilm as a gate insulating film, an oxide semiconductor layer as achannel layer, a second insulating film as a protective layer, a sourceelectrode, and a drain electrode, the method including: forming the gateelectrode on the substrate; forming the first insulating film and theoxide semiconductor layer in the stated order; patterning the firstinsulating film and the oxide semiconductor layer; forming the secondinsulating film in an atmosphere including an oxidizing gas; patterningthe second insulating film so as to cover a channel region (at least apart of a channel region) of the oxide semiconductor layer; forming thesource electrode and the drain electrode; and patterning the sourceelectrode and the drain electrode using the second insulating film as anetching stopper.

According to the present invention, the source electrode and a drainelectrode can be formed by etching, which makes it possible to providethin film transistors which are excellent in mass productivity and havesuch transistor characteristics has to have a minimized OFF-current.

Further features of the present invention will become apparent from thefollowing description of exemplary embodiments with reference to theattached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a view illustrating a structure of an inverted stagger typeTFT having a second insulating film which functions as an etchingstopper.

FIG. 2 is a view illustrating a structure of an inverted stagger typeTFT using a thermal oxide film silicon gate insulating film on a lowresistance n-type silicon substrate.

FIG. 3 is a graph illustrating typical current-voltage characteristicswhen the inverted stagger type TFT illustrated in FIG. 2 is produced.

FIG. 4 is a graph illustrating an example of oxygen desorption data of asecond insulating film measured by a temperature programmed desorptionmass spectrometry.

FIG. 5 is a graph illustrating a relationship between an amount ofoxygen desorbed from amorphous SiO_(x) measured by the temperatureprogrammed desorption mass spectrometry and a concentration of O₂ gascontained in Ar as a forming atmosphere.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of an example of a display apparatus as anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of an example of another display apparatus asan embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a view illustrating a structure of a display apparatus wherepixels including an organic EL device and a thin film transistor arearranged two-dimensionally (in a two-dimensional state).

FIG. 9 is a graph illustrating a relationship between V_(on) andconductivity of an oxide semiconductor in an inverted stagger (bottomgate) type MISFET device.

FIG. 10 is a graph illustrating, when nine TFTs having the structureillustrated in FIG. 2 are produced and their TFT characteristics aremeasured, transfer characteristics of the nine TFTs.

FIG. 11 is a view illustrating a structure of an inverted stagger typeTFT having a protective film.

FIG. 12 is a graph illustrating, when nine TFTs having the structureillustrated in FIG. 11 are produced and their TFT characteristics aremeasured, transfer characteristics of the nine TFTs.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described inthe following with reference to the attached drawings.

In a thin film transistor (TFT) of this embodiment, amorphous SiO_(x) isused as a gate insulating film material. It is also possible to form bysputtering an Al₂O₃ and a-SiO_(x)N_(y), which are amorphous oxideinsulators.

It is preferable to use ZnO or an oxide semiconductor containing In, Zn,and O as a channel layer of the thin film transistor.

The channel layer contains In, Zn, O, and besides, at least one of Ga,Al, Fe, Sn, Mg, Ca, Si, and Ge. Further, it is preferable to use anamorphous oxide whose conductivity is between 10⁻³ S/cm or more and 10⁻⁷S/cm or less.

FIG. 1 is a sectional view, as an example of a thin film transistor,illustrating a structure of a bottom gate structure where a protectivefilm functions as an etching stopper.

A gate electrode 2 is provided on a substrate 1, and further, a firstinsulating film 3, an oxide semiconductor layer 4 as a channel layer, asecond insulating film 5, a source electrode 6, and a drain electrode 7are provided thereon.

When an amorphous oxide containing In, Zn, and O is used as the oxidesemiconductor layer 4, it can be produced at room temperature, and thus,if the insulating film is formed by sputtering, all the film formingprocesses can be performed at room temperature. Further, as thesubstrate, a plastic substrate, a plastic film, or the like can be used.

The oxide semiconductor layer 4 is patterned to form a channel region.After that, an amorphous oxide insulating layer, which is the secondinsulating film 5, is formed in an atmosphere containing an oxidizinggas.

By forming the second insulating film 5 which is a protective layer suchthat the resistance of the oxide semiconductor does not become low,generation of an oxygen vacancy in the oxide semiconductor whose maincomponent is ZnO is suppressed, and thus, generation of many carrierelectrons and a large OFF-current can be prevented.

After the second insulating film 5 is patterned by dry etching using aCF₄ gas, a transparent conductive oxide film of ITO, IZO, or the like asthe source electrode 6 and the drain electrode 7 is formed.

The second insulating film which functions as an etching stop layerprotects the channel region, and thus the source electrode and the drainelectrode can be patterned not only by dry etching but also by wetetching.

Ideally, it is preferable that the second insulating film covers theentire channel region in view of the protection of the source electrodeand the drain electrode upon etching. However, when damages to thesecond insulating film do not substantially lower the characteristics somuch according to the etching conditions or the etching time, it is notnecessary to provide the second insulating film so as to cover theentire channel region. In this case, the second insulating film may beso provided as to cover part of the channel region.

As the source electrode and the drain electrode, a metal such as Ni, Cr,Rh, Mo, Nd, Ti, W, Ta, Pb, or Al, an alloy thereof, or a silicidethereof may be used.

FIG. 2 illustrates a structure of a bottom gate inverted stagger typeTFT using a thermal oxide silicon insulating film 2 with a lowresistance n-type crystalline silicon being a gate electrode and asubstrate 1.

The influence of the conditions under which the second insulating filmis formed on TFT characteristics when an oxide semiconductor is used isexamined using the structure illustrated in FIG. 2.

Amorphous InGaZnO was formed as the oxide semiconductor 4. The sourceelectrode 6 and the drain electrode 7 were formed by depositing as alaminated structure of Ti/Au/Ti followed by lift-off.

When there is no second insulating film, a TFT:A was completed here.

After that, with amorphous SiO_(x) to be a second insulating film beinga target, SiO₂ and a 100%-Ar gas as a sputtering gas were used to form100 nm amorphous SiO_(x) s by sputtering.

By forming a contact hole by wet etching on the source electrode 6 andthe drain electrode 7, a TFT:B having the second insulating film wascompleted.

FIG. 3 is a graph illustrating typical current-voltage characteristicsof the TFT:A and the TFT:B produced in the above-described method.

With regard to the TFT:A, TFT characteristics with a satisfactory on/offratio and with a minimized OFF-current are shown. However, with regardto the TFT:B where amorphous SiO_(x) that is thought to be an ordinaryoxide film insulating layer was formed as the second insulating film, anOFF-current is not exhibited even when the gate voltage is −20 V.

The reason is thought to be reduction of the oxide semiconductor layeror generation of an oxygen vacancy in the oxide semiconductor layer whenthe second insulating film was formed.

This is because, in an oxide semiconductor whose main component is ZnO,an oxygen vacancy is liable to occur and many carrier electrons areliable to be generated.

In FIG. 3, a result of using sputtering for forming the secondinsulating film is illustrated. When amorphous SiO_(x) or amorphousSiN_(y) is formed by P-CVD as the second insulating film, the on/offratio is still less satisfactory.

As a result, in effect, the TFT does not operate as a TFT.

This implies that because an oxide semiconductor is extremely sensitiveto hydrogen, the resistance of a portion of the oxide semiconductor thatis in contact with the second insulating film becomes extremely low.

A second insulating film formed in an atmosphere containing an oxidizinggas, which is a main portion of the present invention will be describedin detail in the following.

(With Regard to Second Insulating Film)

More specifically, the second insulating film can be materialized bysputtering using SiO₂ as a target and using a mixed gas of O₂ gas and Argas (hereinafter referred to as O₂/Ar mixed gas) as a sputtering gas toform an amorphous oxide insulating layer.

The O₂/Ar mixing ratio is indicated as [O₂-gas flow rate(SCCM)]/[(O₂-gas flow rate (SCCM))+(Ar-gas flow rate (SCCM))] (vol %).The effect of the O₂/Ar mixed gas was recognized when the O₂/Ar mixingratio was 10 vol % or more, and more preferably 50 vol %.

When the O₂/Ar mixing ratio was 50 vol %, satisfactory OFF-currentcharacteristics were obtained under almost all oxide semiconductorconditions where satisfactory OFF-current characteristics were obtainedwhen the second insulating film 5 was not formed.

Methods of measuring the oxygen content of amorphous SiO_(x) as thesecond insulating film include temperature programmed desorption massspectrometry (TPD).

Depending on samples, from several ten degrees centigrade to about fourhundred degrees centigrade of the temperature of a thermocouple incontact with a surface of the substrate, a peak of desorption of oxygenexisting in a thin film is observed.

In the present invention, oxygen was almost desorbed at 400° C. fromamorphous SiO_(x) as the second insulating film (desorbed gas) whenmeasured by temperature programmed desorption mass spectrometry.

The range of measurement temperature used in the quantitative analysisof the thermocouple in contact with a surface of the substrate was 50°C. to 800° C.

The desorbed gas was identified as oxygen from the ionic strength ofmass number (m/z) 32, which corresponds to O2⁺.

FIG. 4 is a graph illustrating an example of oxygen desorption datameasured by a temperature programmed desorption mass spectrometry.

The amount of oxygen desorbed from amorphous SiO_(x) as the secondinsulating film which was obtained in this way was in proportion to theconcentration of oxygen in a forming atmosphere.

FIG. 5 is a graph illustrating a relationship between the amount ofoxygen desorbed from amorphous SiO_(x) measured by the temperatureprogrammed desorption mass spectrometry and the concentration of O₂ gascontained in Ar as the forming atmosphere.

As a result of vigorous research and development of a second insulatingfilm of a TFT using a transparent oxide semiconductor, it was found touse a mixed gas of O₂ gas and Ar gas (hereinafter referred to as O₂/Armixed gas) as sputtering gas (also referred to as sputtering filmforming gas) of amorphous SiO_(x).

Further, it was found that, when the mixing ratio (also referred to asmixing gas ratio) was 10 vol % or more, generation of an oxygen vacancyin the oxide semiconductor was suppressed, and thus, generation of manycarrier electrons and a large OFF-current can be prevented.

Amorphous SiO_(x) which is effective in suppressing generation of anoxygen vacancy was found by temperature programmed desorption massspectrometry to contain 3.8×10¹⁹ molecules/cm³ or more of oxygen in thefilm.

Forming conditions which have a wider process margin and which canobtain more stable characteristics are ones when a sputtering gas wherethe volume ratio of O₂ gas to the sum of O₂ gas and Ar gas in thesputtering gas (O₂/Ar mixing ratio) is 50 vol % is used. When, forexample, an oxide semiconductor is formed under such conditions, about1.2×10²⁰ molecules/cm³ of oxygen are contained in the film.

It is supposed that the amorphous SiO_(x) containing oxygen in the filmreleases the oxygen by unintentional heating during the depositionprocess (e.g. temperature increase due to input electrical power duringthe deposition process) or heating in a subsequent process and oxidizesinterfacial portions of the oxide semiconductor, whereby suppressinglowering of the resistance. As a result, it is supposed that generationof oxygen vacancies in the oxide semiconductor is suppressed and manycarrier electrons are generated, whereby preventing increase of theOFF-current.

According to the findings of the inventors of the present invention, theO₂/Ar mixing ratio in the conditions for forming amorphous SiO_(x) whichis effective in suppressing generation of an oxygen vacancy has no upperlimit, and even in a case where the ratio of O₂ is 100 vol %, generationof an oxygen vacancy is effectively suppressed. However, because thefilm deposition rate is decreased by increasing the O₂/Ar mixing ratio,from the viewpoint of productivity and cost, it is preferable to use anO₂/Ar mixing ratio of 50 vol % or less. The relationship between theO₂/Ar mixing ratio of the amorphous SiO_(x) and the film deposition rateis, although depending on film forming parameters such as film forminggas pressure and a distance between the substrate and the target,extremely sensitive to the partial pressure of oxygen. Therefore,normally, forming conditions where the partial pressure of oxygen ishigh are rarely used. With regard to the forming conditions in thiscase, with the film deposition rate when the O₂/Ar mixing ratio is 0 vol% being the reference value (100%), the film deposition rates when theO₂/Ar mixing ratio was 10 vol % and 50 vol % were 77% and 39%,respectively.

A TFT was produced using the above-described amorphous SiO_(x) as thesecond insulating film. The structure of the TFT was as illustrated inFIG. 11, and amorphous InGaZnO as the oxide semiconductor was formedunder the same conditions.

At the same time, a TEG device for measuring the conductivity of theoxide semiconductor was produced under the same process conditions, andthe conductivity of the oxide semiconductor layer was measured.

V_(on), which is one of the transfer characteristics of the TFT, is thevoltage applied to a gate on a rising of the drain current (Id).

FIG. 9 illustrates a relationship between V_(on) and the conductivity ofthe oxide semiconductor.

There is a strong correlation between the conductivity of the oxidesemiconductor and V_(on). The larger the conductivity of the oxidesemiconductor is, the more V_(on) shifts to a negative side. When theconductivity becomes still larger, V_(on) is not observed even at −40 Vor less.

As is apparent from the result, when the second insulating film isformed, increase in the conductivity of the oxide semiconductor shiftsV_(on), which indicates a border between an OFF-current and an ONcurrent, to the negative side to cause deterioration. As a result, theOFF-current characteristics are deteriorated.

Increase in the conductivity of the oxide semiconductor is suppressed bythe forming conditions of the second insulating film.

The suppressing effect is recognized when the O₂/Ar mixing ratio is 10vol % or more, and 3.8×10¹⁹ molecules/cm³ or more of oxygen arecontained in the film.

As the second insulating film, amorphous SiO_(x) which is formed using asputtering gas whose O₂/Ar mixing ratio was 50 vol % and contains1.2×10²⁰ molecules/cm³ of oxygen in the film was used. Nine TFTs havingthe structure illustrated in FIG. 2 were produced, and their TFTcharacteristics were measured.

FIG. 10 is a graph illustrating transfer characteristics of the nineTFTs. V_(on) is controlled to be substantially 0 V and TFTs exhibitingsatisfactory on/off ratios were obtained.

In the above description, the second insulating film was amorphousSiO_(x), but amorphous silicon oxynitride or amorphous aluminum oxidemay be used as the amorphous oxide insulator as the second insulatingfilm.

Further, a case where an O₂/Ar mixed gas was used as the oxidizing gasin forming the second insulating film is described in the above.However, it is essential to form the second insulating film such thatthe conductivity of the oxide semiconductor is not increased, and thus,the oxidizing gas is not limited to oxygen.

Besides, the conditions for the content of oxygen in the amorphous oxideinsulator as the second insulating film are likely to vary depending ona deposition apparatus. However, when varying the deposition parametersto investigate the trend, it is possible to control the content ofoxygen so as to obtain the advantageous effect of the present invention.The deposition parameters include deposition gas pressure, input powerupon deposition, deposition temperature, substrate-target distance, biasapplication to the substrate or the cathode, etc.

For example, as the thin film transistor, an amorphous oxidesemiconductor layer (a-IGZO thin film) where the composition ratio ofindium, gallium, and zinc is 1:1:1 is formed using sputtering which canform a large-area film.

The amorphous oxide semiconductor layer is applied to a thin filmtransistor having the structure illustrated in FIG. 1.

This can achieve an on/off ratio of the transistor of 10⁵ or more. Thefield-effect mobility in this case is 1 cm²V⁻¹s⁻¹ or more.

By those effects, a source electrode and a drain electrode can be formedby various etching processes in a bottom gate type thin film transistorusing an oxide semiconductor, which is excellent in mass productivity.

Further, a thin film transistor having satisfactory transistorcharacteristics with a minimized OFF-current can be provided.

In the above description, a case where a transparent oxide semiconductorpolycrystalline thin film using ZnO as the main component or atransparent oxide semiconductor thin film whose main component is ZnOcontaining microcrystals is used as the semiconductor layer (channellayer) is described.

Further, a case where an amorphous oxide formed so as to contain In, Ga,Zn, and O is used is described. However, the oxide semiconductor layeris not limited thereto.

As the amorphous oxide semiconductor layer formed so as to contain In,Ga, Zn, and O, an amorphous oxide which contains at least one elementamong Sn, In, and Zn may be used.

Further, when Sn is selected as at least a part of the elements formingthe amorphous oxide, Sn_(1−x)M4_(x) (0<x<1, M4 is selected from Group IVelements whose atomic numbers are smaller than that of Sn, i.e., Si, Ge,and Zr) may be used instead of Sn.

Further, when In is selected as at least a part of the elements formingthe amorphous oxide, In_(1−y)M3_(y) (0<y<1, M3 is selected from GroupIII elements whose atomic numbers are smaller than that of Lu or In,i.e., B, Al, Ga, and Y) may be used instead of In.

Further, when Zn is selected as at least a part of the elements formingthe amorphous oxide, Zn_(1−z)M2_(z) (0<z<1, M2 is selected from Group IIelements whose atomic numbers are smaller than that of Zn, i.e., Mg andCa) may be used instead of Zn.

Amorphous materials which can be used include an Sn—In—Zn oxide, anIn—Zn—Ga—Mg oxide, an In oxide, an In—Sn oxide, an In—Ga oxide, an In—Znoxide, a Zn—Ga oxide, and an Sn—In—Zn oxide.

Needless to say, the composition ratio of the forming materials is notnecessarily required to be 1:1. It should be noted that, it is difficultfor Zn and Sn to form amorphism by themselves in some cases, but addingIn makes it easier to form an amorphous phase.

For example, in the case of an In—Zn oxide, the composition ispreferably such that the ratio of the number of In atoms to all atomsexcept oxygen is about 20 at. % or more.

In the case of an Sn—In oxide, the composition is preferably such thatthe ratio of the number of In atoms to all atoms except oxygen is about80 at. % or more. In the case of an Sn—In—Zn oxide, the composition ispreferably such that the ratio of the number of In atoms to all atomsexcept oxygen is about 15 at. % or more.

The amorphousness can be confirmed by the condition of not detecting aclear diffraction peak in X-ray diffraction of a thin film to bemeasured with the angle of incidence being as low as about 0.5 degrees,(that is, a halo pattern is observed).

It should be noted that, in this embodiment, when the above-mentionedmaterials are used for a channel layer of a field-effect transistor, itis not excluded that the channel layer includes a forming material in amicrocrystalline state.

Then, by connecting a drain of the thin film transistor which is anoutput terminal to an electrode of a display device such as an organicor inorganic electroluminescent (EL) device or liquid crystal device, adisplay apparatus can be formed.

Specific example of display apparatus structures are described in thefollowing with reference to sectional views of a display apparatus.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of an example of a display apparatus as anembodiment of the present invention. A TFT having on a substrate 611 agate electrode 612, a gate insulating film 613, an oxide semiconductorfilm 614, a second insulating film 615, a source (drain) electrode 616,and a drain (source) electrode 617.

A pixel electrode 618 is connected via an interlayer insulating film 619to the drain (source) electrode 617. The pixel electrode 618 is incontact with a light emitting layer 620, and further, the light emittinglayer 620 is in contact with an electrode 621.

Such a structure enables to control current injected to the lightemitting layer 620 by the value of a current which flows from the source(drain) electrode 616 to the drain (source) electrode 617 via a channelformed in the oxide semiconductor film 614.

Therefore, the current injected to the light emitting layer 620 can becontrolled by voltage of the gate 612 of the TFT. In this case, theelectrode 618, the light emitting layer 620, and the electrode 621 forman inorganic or organic electroluminescent device as an electro-opticaldevice.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of another example of a display apparatus asan embodiment of the present invention. A drain (source) electrode 717is extended so as to serve also as a pixel electrode 718. The drain(source) electrode 717 can be structured to be an electrode 723 forapplying voltage to a liquid crystal or an electrophoretic particle 721sandwiched between high-resistance films 720 and 722.

The liquid crystal or the electrophoretic particle 721, thehigh-resistance films 720 and 722, the pixel electrode 718, and theelectrode 723 form a display device.

Voltage applied to the display device liquid crystal cell or theelectrophoretic particle cell as a as an electro-optical device can becontrolled by the value of a current which flows from a source electrode716 to the drain electrode 717 via a channel formed in an oxidesemiconductor film 714.

Therefore, the voltage applied to the display device can be controlledby voltage of a gate 712 of the TFT. In this case, if a display mediumof the display device is a capsule where a fluid and particles areencapsulated in an insulating film, the high-resistance films 720 and722 are not necessary.

In the above two examples, the TFT is represented by bottom gateinverted stagger type ones, but the present invention is not necessarilylimited to such a structure.

For example, if the connection between the drain electrode which is theoutput terminal of the TFT and the display device is topologically thesame, other structures such as a coplanar type are also possible.

Further, in the above two examples, the pair of electrodes for drivingthe display device is provided so as to be in parallel with thesubstrate, but this embodiment is not necessarily limited to such astructure.

For example, if the connection between the drain electrode which is theoutput terminal of the TFT and the display device is topologically thesame, either one or both of the electrodes may be provided so as to beperpendicular to the substrate.

Further, in the above two examples, only one TFT connected to thedisplay device is illustrated, but the present invention is notnecessarily limited to such a structure. For example, the TFTillustrated in the figures may be connected to another TFT according tothe present invention. What is required is that the TFT illustrated inthe figures is in a final stage of a circuit including those TFTs.

In this case, when the pair of electrodes for driving the display deviceis provided so as to be in parallel with the substrate, if the displaydevice is an EL device or a reflection type display device such as areflection type liquid crystal device, either one of the electrodes isrequired to be transparent to the wavelength of the emitted light or thewavelength of the reflected light.

If the display device is a transmission type display device such as atransmission type liquid crystal device, both of the electrodes arerequired to be transparent to transmitted light.

Further, in the TFTs according to this embodiment, all the structure maybe transparent, which enables to form a transparent display device.

Further, such a display device may be provided on a low heat resistantsubstrate such as a lightweight, flexible, and transparent plasticsubstrate made of resin.

Next, a display apparatus where pixels including an EL device (in thiscase, an organic EL device) and a thin film transistor are arrangedtwo-dimensionally (in a two-dimensional state) is described withreference to FIG. 8.

FIG. 8 illustrates a transistor 81 for driving an organic EL layer 84, atransistor 82 for selecting a pixel.

A capacitor 83 is for the purpose of maintaining the selected state andstores charge between a common electrode line 87 and a source of atransistor 2 to maintain a gate signal of a transistor 1.

Pixel selection is made by a scanning electrode line 85 and a signalelectrode line 86.

More specifically, an image signal is applied as a pulse signal from adriver circuit (not shown) via the scanning electrode 85 to a gateelectrode.

At the same time, the image signal is applied also as a pulse signalfrom another driver circuit (not shown) via a signal electrode 86 to thetransistor 82 to select a pixel.

In this case, the transistor 82 is turned ON and charge is stored in thecapacitor 83 between the signal electrode line 86 and a source of thetransistor 82.

This makes gate voltage of a transistor 81 maintained at a desired leveland the transistor 81 is turned ON. This state is maintained until thenext signal is received.

During the state where the transistor 81 is ON, voltage and current arekept supplied to the organic EL layer 84 to maintain light emission.

In the example illustrated in FIG. 8, two transistors and one capacitorare provided per pixel, but more transistors or the like may be mountedin order to improve the performance.

It is essential to use in a transistor portion a TFT containing In, Ga,Zn, and O which can be formed at a low temperature and which is atransparent TFT to obtain an effective EL device.

Next, examples of the present invention will be described with referenceto the drawings.

EXAMPLE 1

In this example, an inverted stagger (bottom gate) type MISFET deviceillustrated in FIG. 11 is produced.

First, a gate terminal of Ti of 5 nm/Au of 40 nm/Ti of 5 nm is formed ona glass substrate by photolithography and a lift-off technique.

Further, an insulating layer of a-SiO_(x) with a thickness of 200 nm isformed thereon by sputtering. In this case, a SiO₂ target is used as thesputtering target, and Ar gas is used as the sputtering gas. Also the RFradio-frequency power is 400 W, the deposition pressure is 0.1 Pa, andthe film deposition rate is 7.4 nm/min. The substrate temperature isroom temperature, and no intentional heating is performed.

Further, an amorphous oxide semiconductor film used as a semiconductorlayer is formed thereon at room temperature with a thickness of 20 nm byan RF sputtering.

A channel region is formed by photolithography and wet etching usinghydrochloric acid.

After that, Ti of 5 nm/Au of 40 nm/Ti of 5 nm is formed by electron beamdeposition, and source and drain terminals are formed byphotolithography and a lift-off technique.

Further, as a second insulating film, an insulating layer of a-SiO_(x)is formed with a thickness of 100 nm by an RF sputtering.

In this case, SiO₂ is used as the target and an oxidizing atmospherewhose O₂/Ar mixing ratio is 50 vol % (5 SCCM O₂ gas and 5 SCCM Ar gas)is used as the sputtering gas. Also the RF radio-frequency power is 400W, the deposition pressure is 0.1 Pa, and the film deposition rate is2.9 nm/min. The substrate temperature is room temperature, and nointentional heating is performed.

In this way, nine inverted stagger (bottom gate) type MISFET devices asillustrated in FIG. 11 are completed. In this case, the metalcomposition ratio in the amorphous oxide semiconductor film isIn:Ga:Zn=1.00:0.94:0.65.

As a result of an evaluation of I-V characteristics of the MISFETdevice, the nine TFTs has a field-effect mobility of 5.0 cm²/Vs onaverage and an on/off ratio of more than 10⁶ on average. FIG. 12illustrates the transfer characteristics.

By using the second insulating film according to the present invention,an OFF-current of the oxide semiconductor bottom gate type thin filmtransistor is minimized and thus a thin film transistor havingsatisfactory transistor characteristics can be produced with stability.

COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE 1

In this comparative example, an inverted stagger (bottom gate) typeMISFET device illustrated in FIG. 11 is produced under the sameconditions as those of Example 1 except for the forming conditions ofthe second insulating film.

As a second insulating film, an insulating layer of a-SiO_(x) is formedwith a thickness of 100 nm by a RF sputtering. In this case, SiO₂ isused as the target and an oxidizing atmosphere whose O₂/Ar mixing ratiowas 10 vol % (1 SCCM O₂ gas and 5 SCCM Ar gas) is used as the sputteringgas. Also the RF radio-frequency power is 400 W, the deposition pressureis 0.1 Pa, and the film deposition rate is 5.7 nm/min. The substratetemperature is room temperature, and no intentional heating isperformed. In this way, nine inverted stagger (bottom gate) type MISFETdevices as illustrated in FIG. 11 are completed.

At the same time, a TEG device for measuring the conductivity of theoxide semiconductor is produced under the same process conditions, andthe conductivity of the oxide semiconductor layer is measured.

V_(on) s, one of the transfer characteristics of the TFT, is the voltageapplied to a gate on a rising of the drain current (Id).

FIG. 9 illustrates a relationship between V_(on) and the conductivity ofthe oxide semiconductor.

The second insulating film of a-SiO_(x) formed by using the sputteringgas of the O₂/Ar mixing ratio of 10 vol % contains 3.8×10¹⁹molecules/cm³ of oxygen therein.

As a result, the second insulating film of a-SiO_(x) formed by using thegas of the O₂/Ar mixing ratio of 10 vol % is effective in suppressinggeneration of an oxygen vacancy in the oxide semiconductor, V_(on)thereof is −40 V on average, and the on/off ratio thereof is 10⁶ ormore, which is satisfactory.

When the O₂/Ar mixing ratio is 1 vol % or 0 vol %, variations in thecharacteristics increase and, even if gate voltage of −50 V is applied,clear V_(on) is not observed in some cases and clear effect ofsuppressing generation of an oxygen vacancy in the oxide semiconductoris not recognized.

EXAMPLE 2

In this example, an inverted stagger (bottom gate) type MISFET deviceillustrated in FIG. 1 is produced.

First, a gate electrode layer of a transparent conductive film IZO witha thickness of 150 nm is formed on a glass substrate by sputtering.

A gate electrode is formed by photolithography and wet etching usinghydrochloric acid.

Further, an insulating layer of a-SiO_(x) with a thickness of 200 nm isformed thereon by an RF sputtering. In this case, a SiO₂ target is usedas the sputtering target, and Ar gas is used as the sputtering gas. Alsothe RF radio-frequency power is 400 W, the deposition pressure is 0.1Pa, and the film deposition rate is 7.4 nm/min. The substratetemperature is room temperature, and no intentional heating isperformed.

Further, an amorphous oxide semiconductor film used as a semiconductorlayer is formed at room temperature with a thickness of 20 nm bysputtering.

A channel region is formed by photolithography and wet etching usinghydrochloric acid. After that, as a second insulating film, aninsulating layer of a-SiO_(x) is formed with a thickness of 100 nm bysputtering.

In this case, SiO₂ is used as the target and an oxidizing atmospherewhose O₂/Ar mixing ratio is 50 vol % (5 SCCM O₂ gas and 5 SCCM Ar gas)is used as the sputtering gas.

A second insulating film which protects the channel region and functionsas an etching stop layer is completed by photolithography and dryetching using a CF₄ gas.

After that, a transparent conductive film ITO is formed with a thicknessof 150 nm by sputtering, and source and drain terminals are formed byphotolithography and etching.

In this way, the inverted stagger (bottom gate) type transparent MISFETdevice illustrated in FIG. 1 can be formed.

As the source electrode and the drain electrode, not only a transparentconductive oxide film such as IZO, but also a metal such as Ni, Cr, Rh,Mo, Nd, Ti, W, Ta, Pb, or Al, an alloy thereof, or a silicide thereofmay be used. Further, the source electrode and the drain electrode maybe formed of materials different from each other.

The source electrode and the drain electrode of the inverted stagger(bottom gate) type MISFET device can be formed by etching, and a thinfilm transistor which excels in mass production and has transistorcharacteristics with a minimized OFF-current is formed.

EXAMPLE 3

In this example, a display apparatus using the TFT illustrated in FIG. 7is described.

The production process of the TFT is similar to that of Example 3.

In the above-described TFT, a short side of an ITO film forming a drainelectrode is extended to 100 μm. With 90 μm of the extended portionbeing left and with wiring to the source electrode and the gateelectrode being secured, the TFT is covered with an insulating layer.

A polyimide film is applied thereon and rubbing is carried out.

On the other hand, a plastic substrate having an ITO film and apolyimide film similarly formed thereon with rubbing carried out isprepared, the plastic substrate is opposed to the above-describedsubstrate having the TFT formed thereon with a gap of 5 μm therebetween,and nematic liquid crystal is injected into the gap.

Further, a pair of polarizing plates is provided on both sides of thestructure.

In this case, by applying voltage to the source electrode of the TFT andchanging voltage applied to the gate electrode, light transmission ischanged only with regard to a region of 30 μm×90 μm which is a part ofthe island of the ITO film extended from the drain electrode.

Further, the light transmission can be continuously changed also by thesource-drain voltage under the gate voltage where the TFT is ON. In thisway, a display apparatus using a liquid crystal cell corresponding toFIG. 7 as a display device is formed.

In this example, a white plastic substrate is used as a substrate forforming the TFT, gold replaces the respective electrodes of the TFT, andthe polyimide film and the polarizing plates were omitted.

Further, the gap between the white and transparent plastic substrates isfilled with a capsule where particles and a fluid are encapsulated withan insulating film filled.

In the display apparatus structured in this way, the voltage between thedrain electrode extended by the TFT and the ITO film thereabove iscontrolled, and thus, the particles in the capsule moves up and down.

This enables to carry out a display by controlling the reflectivity ofthe extended drain electrode region observed from the side of thetransparent substrate.

Further, in this example, a plurality of adjacent TFTs may be formed toform, for example, a current control circuit having an ordinarystructure with four transistors and a capacitor, and, one of thetransistors in a final stage may drive an EL device as the TFTillustrated in FIG. 6.

For example, a TFT using the above-described ITO film as a drainelectrode is used.

An organic electroluminescence device formed of a charge injection layerand a light emitting layer is formed in a region of 30 μm×90 μm which isa part of the island of the ITO film extended from the drain electrode.

In this way, a display apparatus using an EL device can be formed.

EXAMPLE 4

The display device and the TFT of Example 3 are arrangedtwo-dimensionally.

For example, 7,425×1,790 pixels each occupying an area of about 30μm×115 μm including a display device such as a liquid crystal cell or anEL device of Example 3 and a TFT are arranged so as to form a rectanglewith a pitch of 40 μm in the direction of a short side and 120 μm in thedirection of a long side.

1,790 gate wirings going through gate electrodes of 7,425 TFTs in thedirection of the long side and 7,425 signal wires going through portionsof source electrodes of 1,790 TFTs extending off out of the island of anamorphous oxide semiconductor film by 5 μm in the direction of the shortside are provided.

The gate wirings and the signal wirings are connected to a gate drivercircuit and a source driver circuit, respectively.

Further, in the case of a liquid crystal display device, by providing ona surface a color filter having repeated RGB in the direction of thelong side in such a manner that its size is the same as that of theliquid crystal display device and it is aligned with the liquid crystaldisplay device, an active matrix color image display apparatus ofA4-size with about 211 ppi can be formed.

In the case of an EL device, a gate electrode of a first TFT of two TFTsincluded in one EL device is connected to a gate wiring, a sourceelectrode of a second TFT is connected to a signal wiring, and further,the emitting wavelengths of the EL device are repeated in the directionof the long side with RGB.

In this way, a self-emission type color image display apparatus havingthe same resolution can be formed.

In such a case, the driver circuit for driving the active matrix may beformed by using the same TFT as that of a pixel according to the presentinvention, or may be formed by using an available IC chip.

While the present invention has been described with reference toexemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is notlimited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of thefollowing claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as toencompass all such modifications and equivalent structures andfunctions.

This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application Nos.2006-328308, filed Dec. 5, 2006 and 2007-273863, filed Oct. 22, 2007,which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A thin film transistor, comprising: a gateelectrode; a first insulating film as a gate insulating film; an oxidesemiconductor film as a channel layer, said oxide semiconductor filmcomprising at least one of a Sn—In—Zn oxide, an In—Zn—Ga oxide, an In—Snoxide, an In—Ga oxide, an In—Zn oxide or an In oxide; a secondinsulating film as a protective layer for protecting the channel layer;and a source electrode and a drain electrode, wherein a part of each ofthe source electrode and the drain electrode covers the oxidesemiconductor film, and another part of each of the source electrode andthe drain electrode covers the second insulating film, and each of thefirst insulating film and the second insulating film includes a siliconoxide layer, and a film thickness of that part of the second insulatingfilm which is covered with either of the source electrode and the drainelectrode is not more than half of a film thickness of the firstinsulating film.
 2. The thin film transistor according to claim 1,wherein the silicon oxide layer included in the second insulating filmcontacts the oxide semiconductor film.
 3. An apparatus, comprising anelectro-optical device having a pixel electrode; and the film transistoraccording to claim 1, wherein the pixel electrode is connected to one ofthe source electrode and the drain electrode of the thin filmtransistor.
 4. The apparatus according to claim 3, wherein theelectro-optical device is an electroluminescence device.
 5. Theapparatus according to claim 3, wherein the electro-optical device is aliquid crystal cell.
 6. The thin film transistor according to claim 1,wherein an on/off ratio of the thin film transistor is at least 10 ⁵. 7.The thin film transistor according to claim 1, wherein the secondinsulating film is formed in an atmosphere comprising an oxidizing gas.8. The thin film transistor according to claim 1, wherein the siliconoxide layer included in the first insulating film contacts the oxidesemiconductor film transistor.
 9. The thin film transistor according toclaim 1, wherein the source electrode and the drain electrode comprisemetal.
 10. A thin film transistor, comprising: a gate electrode; a firstinsulating film as a gate insulating film; an oxide semiconductor filmas a channel layer, said oxide semiconductor film comprising at leastone of a Sn—In—Zn oxide, an In—Zn—Ga oxide, an In—Sn oxide, an In—Gaoxide, an In—Zn oxide or an In oxide; a second insulating film as aprotective layer for protecting the channel layer; and a sourceelectrode and a drain electrode, wherein a part of each of the sourceelectrode and the drain electrode covers the oxide semiconductor film,and another part of each of the source electrode and the drain electrodecovers the second insulating film, and a film thickness of that part ofthe second insulating film which is covered with either of the sourceelectrode and the drain electrode is not more than half of a filmthickness of the first insulating film.
 11. The thin film transistoraccording to claim 10, wherein the second insulating film comprisessilicon oxide layer.
 12. The thin film transistor according to claim 10,wherein the silicon oxide layer included in the second insulating filmcontacts the oxide semiconductor film.
 13. The thin film transistoraccording to claim 10, wherein an on/off ratio of the thin filmtransistor is at least 10⁵.
 14. The thin film transistor according toclaim 10, wherein the second insulating film is formed in an atmospherecomprising an oxidizing gas.
 15. The thin film transistor according toclaim 10, wherein the first insulating film comprises silicon oxidelayer.
 16. The thin film transistor according to claim 10, wherein thesilicon oxide layer included in the first insulating film contacts theoxide semiconductor film.
 17. The thin film transistor according toclaim 10, wherein the source electrode and the drain electrode comprisemetal.
 18. An apparatus, comprising an electro-optical device having apixel electrode; and film transistor according to claim 10, wherein thepixel electrode is connected to one of the source electrode and thedrain electrode of the thin film transistor.
 19. The apparatus accordingto claim 18, wherein the electro-optical device is anelectroluminescence device.
 20. The apparatus according to claim 18,wherein the electro-optical device is a liquid crystal cell.
 21. A thinfilm transistor, comprising: a gate electrode; a first insulating film;an oxide semiconductor film; a second insulating film; and a sourceelectrode and a drain electrode, wherein the first insulating film isprovided between the oxide semiconductor film and the gate electrode,the oxide semiconductor film is provided between the first insulatingfilm and the second insulating film, a part of each of the sourceelectrode and the drain electrode covers the oxide semiconductor film,and another part of each of the source electrode and the drain electrodecovers the second insulating film, each of the first insulating film andthe second insulating film includes a silicon oxide, and a filmthickness of that part of the second insulating film which is coveredwith either of the source electrode and the drain electrode is not morethan half of a film thickness of the first insulating film.
 22. The thinfilm transistor according to claim 21, wherein the second insulatingfilm comprises silicon oxide layer.
 23. The thin film transistoraccording to claim 21, wherein the silicon oxide layer included in thesecond insulating film contacts the oxide semiconductor film.
 24. Thethin film transistor according to claim 21, wherein an on/off ratio ofthe thin film transistor is at least 10⁵.
 25. The thin film transistoraccording to claim 21, wherein the second insulating film is formed inan atmosphere comprising an oxidizing gas.
 26. The thin film transistoraccording to claim 21, wherein the first insulating film comprisessilicon oxide layer.
 27. The thin film transistor according to claim 21,wherein the silicon oxide layer included in the first insulating filmcontacts the oxide semiconductor film.
 28. The thin film transistoraccording to claim 21, wherein the source electrode and the drainelectrode comprise metal.
 29. An apparatus, comprising anelectro-optical device having a pixel electrode; and the film transistoraccording to claim 21, wherein the pixel electrode is connected to oneof the source electrode and the drain electrode of the thin filmtransistor.
 30. The apparatus according to claim 29, wherein theelectro-optical device is an electroluminescence device.
 31. Theapparatus according to claim 29, wherein the electro-optical device is aliquid crystal cell.